Controller for electric motors.



H. W. CHENEY. l GONTROLLERTOP. ELECTRIC MOTORS.

APPLIOATION FILED 00T. 5, 1908.

Patente@ may 11, 19o@ 2 SHEETS-SHEET ll..

H. W. CHENEY. CONTROLLER FOR ELECTRIC MOTORS.

APPLIOATION FILED 00T. 5, 1908.

Patented May 11, 1909.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

formly successful in its operation.

UNITED STATES HERBERT W. CHENEY, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO AIiLIS-CHALMERS COMPN Y, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

CONTROLLER FOB. ELECTRIC MOTORS.'

To all whom it lmay concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT W. CHENEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Controllers for Electric Motors, of which the following is .a full, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates to starting controllers; for electric motors, and particularly to returning devices for renderinpr such controllers fool-proof.

My present invention is an improvement on that set forth in my Patent No. 864,446, granted Aug. 27, 1907.. In such prior patent, there is described an arrangement which renders it impossiblefor a starting controller to be left in any starting position, thus making it impossible for a careless er inexperienced operator to' leave a controller in a position in which a resistance or auto-transformer winding designed merely for use for but a few seconds is'left in circuit'indefinitely without care. `The returning device described in such prior patent has been uni- My pres ent invention, however, is aii improvement on the,device shown in such prior patent in that it biases the movable member of the controller forward to oil' position when it has been moved forward beyond the running position. It also avoids'the haminer-blow obtained in such. prior device.

A controller constructed in accordance with my present invention may be said to consist broadly of liXed and movable niembers, and means for biasingl the movable member forward to ott' position diiriiigc;` one part ofits movement and backward to oli position during another part of its movement and leaving it unbiased. at one point in its movement.

rlhe specific novel features of my invention will appear from the description and drawings, and will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

Figuie l. is a. sectional View taken on the line 1- of Fig. 2 and showing a portion of a contiolh r embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of suc-li portion of the controller, with the controller in oli` position, and Figs. 3 and 4 are somewhat similar views showing the controller iii starting and running positions respectively.

The de tails of the' startingr controller proper Specification of Letters Patent.

Appiieauon flied october 5,

` Patented May l1, ieee.

1908. Serial No. 456,354.

will not be fully described herein because they form no part of my pieseiit invention and are unnecessary to an understanding thereof. l

They controller drum l0,.iii the present case7 is one which is arranged when in a starting position to connect a motor te polyphase alternating current. mains through step-down auto-transformer windings, and when iii a. running` position to connect. such motor directly to such mains and to cut out the auto-transformer windings. The normal operation of this controller .drum is continuously in the same direction, a movement through 180o constituting; a complete op'eration. The two oppositehalves of the controller drum are identical in structure and.

cooperate respectively with two sets of con tact fingers on opposite sides of the drum; each half cooperates in turn with each of the two sets of contact fingers during successive complete operations of the controller. In the controller shown there is but one starting position between the running` and the olf positions, but it is obvious that any desired number of such starting` positions may be employed.

'lhe controller drum i() is operated by the handle ll, through gear wheels. 12 and la. On the common shaft of the handle ll and gear l2 is a. casting;n lll-,which consists ol a mutilated gear l5 and cam arms le. A ineiiiber 17 pivoted at i8 has gear teeth 19 which co'iperate with the teeth 15:" ol' the mutilated gear 15, and a 'roller 2() which cooperates with thc arm 16. The inoiiiher 17 is biased iii a clockwise direction by means oll an adjustable spi-ing` 21... All ol these parts are supported from the irainc work 22 of the controller. I

l/Vhen the controller is in oilA position, the parts are as shown in Fig. 2. The roller 2O is iii engagement with the notch 23 of one oll thearms 1G, and through such engagement backward movement of the handle l1 and controller drum 10 is prevented. However, the drum 11 may be iiioved forward or in a clockwise direction, causingmovement ol the gear 13 and druni l() in a forward or count-enclockwise direction. In this movement of the handle il and consequently of the casting 14, the member 17 is also forced in a coiiiitei'rlockwise direction against the action of the spring 21. This movement of the member i7 is caused at irst through ceh lll

" the notch 23 and roller Cn the engagement of the these teeth havingr been mt during the early *he members 14 and arts shown controller, the in engagement. Should .ige

the operator release the handle 1i with the controller in this position, the spring 21 will move the member 17 in a clockwise direction, and through such movement will cause the handle 11. and controller drum to be returned to olf nosition. Upon continued forward movement of the handle 11, the teeth a and 19 pass out of engagement and the roiler engagesa the end of one of the arms 16. This is illustrated in Fig. 4 which shows the arrangement of parts for a running position of the controller. The parts are so shaped that when in this position the controller is without bias. Backward Inovement of the controller from this point is prevented because one of the teeth 19 is in the path'of a mutilated tooth of the gear 15, as illustrated. But forward movement is not prevented. Vf hen the handle 11 is moved. forward from the position shown in Fig. 4, the roller 20 first passes over the outer corner of the arm 16; whereupon the spring 21, through the engagement of the roller 20 with the cam surface 24 of the arm'l, ives the casting 14, and through it the hand e 11 and drum 10, a bias forward to the off position, shown in Fig. 2. This ofi position is 180O away from the former off position.

Should the handle 11 be released by the operator at any time in the movement of the controller before the roller 20 engages the end of the arm 16, the movable parts of the controller will lbe returned automatically to the off position, through the action of the sprin 2l. Should the handle` 11 be released by the operator at any time in the movement of the controller after the roller 20 has engaged the surface 24 the movable parts of the controller will be moved forward automatically to the off position, through the action of the spring 21. But the handle can be released when the controller is in running position, as indicated -in Fig. 4, and there will be no tendency for the movable parts of the controller to move either forward or backward. Moreover, when the controller is moved forward beyond the running position and the roller 2() slides down the cam surface 24 to the notch 23, the clockwise movement of the member 17 is somewhat retarded, and the roller 20 does not come into the notch 23', which limits the clockwise movement of the member 17, with a hammer blow. This has been found to be of considerable advantage, both in lessening the noise of operation and eliminating the shock to thc controller'.

Many moililications may be made in the precise arrangement here shown and de-l scribed, and-ail such which do not involve a departure from. the spirit and scope of my invention aim to cover in the following claims.

What l claim as new is:

1. il controller biased backward. to ofi' position when in a starting position, unbiased when in running position, and biased forward to oif positicn'when beyond running position.

2. A controller for electric motors, comprising fixed and movable members, and means for biasino` lthe controller backward to olf position during a part of its movement and forward to off position during another part of its movement, and leaving it unbiased at a point in its movement.

3. In a controller, contact fingers, a'rotatable drum cooperating therewith, said drum having off, starting, and running positions, and a spring which tends to move the drum backward to off position when it is in startin position, to move the drum forward to o position when it is beyond running position, and has no tendency to move the drum when it is in running position.

4. ln a controller, a rotatable drum, fixed contacts with which said drum co crates, and means whereby saiddrum in ifferent parts of its movement is .biased in op osite directions to olf position and is 'un iased when in ruiming position.

A controller for electric motors, comprising a rotatable drum, contact lingers cooperating therewith, means for preventing backward movement of said drum fromicertain positions, and a sprin@ which tends to move said drum backward to off position when it is in any position from which it maybe moved backward and forward to off position onlywhen it has been -moved forward beyond runnin position.

6. A control ir for electric motors, comprising fixed and movable members, said` movable menibelzhaving off and running p0- sitions, and means tending to move said movable member to off position in a direction away from the running position when said movable member is on either side of such running position butfexertingvno influence to move said movable member when it is in such running position.

7. ln controller, fixed and movable members, a spring-pressed art tending to move said movable member ackward to off position until it has reached the running position, and means for preventing said part from striking a hammer-blow when it ceases to exert such tendency.

8. ln a controller for electric motors, fixed and movable members, a sprin r-pressed part which tends to move the contro ler backward to olf position when it is on one side of runof the movemeu'x, of th@ latter acs thxugh a, uam and during nnothmfayt through 2L gea-r. In tesumony Whel'so Y :l'x my slgn atm-0;

in the plesence of tw@ ",vuruessea.

wam w m, posmon sye. of x'ulmmg posh Y. 1 L i3 .im Malcom-1cmotors,lxed 1 Mxlwa-ukee M15. Som. l() 1906.

I l! I A l nbers, a spfuwqusseu pmt. HFRBF.. f 5V v ,Y 1 RT (l FA V) a bms to said movable member J J A l J wma-u1 parts @i lts movement, and a i Wlznesses:

leal cnnectlon between sind part H. C. CASE, 3Q movabe member Winch durmg part CHAS. L. BYRON. 

